Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2012 winners – in pictures

Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2012 winners – in pictures

This year's Astronomy Photographer of the Year, run by the Royal Observatory Greenwich in association with Sky at Night Magazine, received a record number of entries from amateurs and professional photographers around the globe. An
exhibition of the winning entries opens at the observatory on 20 September

Wednesday 19 September 2012 20.39 EDT
First published on Wednesday 19 September 2012 20.39 EDT

The winner of the Earth and space category, taken in Nagano, Japan. Orion, Taurus and the Pleiades are the backdrop to an eerie frozen landscapePhotograph: Masahiro Miyasaka

Runner-up in the Earth and space category. The aurora borealis traces the shifting patterns of the Earth's magnetic field, creating a spectacular midwinter show in Nordland Fylke, Norway Photograph: Arild Heitmann

Runner-up in the people and space special prize. Steven Christenson came across two hikers lost in the wilderness of Yosemite one evening in July 2011. He captured this image of the tiny figures in a small bubble of torchlightPhotograph: Steven Christenson

Runner-up in the deep space category. Vast supernova remnant Simeis 147, which consists of the expanding debris of a massive star that exploded around 40,000 years ago. It is nicknamed the spaghetti nebula

Highly commended entry in the Earth and space category. The Milky Way arches over a mirror-like lake on the island of Reunion. Luc Perrot waited two years before all the conditions were favourable for this photograph

Overall competition winner and winner of the deep space category. This image of the Whirlpool galaxy combines fine detail in the spiral arms with the faint tails of light that show its small companion galaxy being slowly torn apart by the gravity of its neighbour